Welcome to the British TV and Radio Links page at www.astra2sat.com. Listed below are links to broadcasters, equipment manufacturers, Publications & TV Listings, Reception Information, Satellites, Frequencies & Channels, Media Information, HDTV, Television & Radio Nostalgia, Irish TV & Radio, British Soaps, expatriate Links and links to US broadcasters.
If you know of any relevant links not listed, please email this site to have them included.
| Broadcasters |
| BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation. |
| BBC America Entertainment channel, only available in the United States. |
| BBC Entertainment The BBC’s international entertainment channel. |
| BBC Lifestyle Lifestyle programming, currently available in Singapore. |
| BBC Knowledge The factual and documentary channel, currently available in Asia. |
| BBC World News The BBC’s international news channel. |
| BBC Worldwide The commercial arm of the BBC. |
| CBeebies International version of the BBC’s pre-school channel. |
| Channel 4 Britain’s fourth national TV channel. |
| Channel 5 Britain’s fifth national TV channel. |
| ITV Britain’s first commercial TV channel. |
| Pulped Pulped, a free direct-to-consumer online video channel designed for Gen Z and millennial audiences has launched with a range of all-original programming offering a blend of scripted and unscripted comedic video series. |
| S4C – Sianel Pedwar Cymru Welsh language Channel Four for Wales. |
| Shorts TV ShortsTV is the global home of short movies. They have the world’s largest catalogue of high quality short movies available on TV, online and in theaters, and also produce original short film content for broadcasters and brands. |
| Sky Broadcaster and platform operator. |
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| Equipment |
| Channelmaster Channelmaster dishes and equipment. |
| Gibertini Italian dish manufacturer dishes up to 150cm. |
| Best Manufacturers of the lowest noise LNB on the market (0.1dB). |
| Humax Foxsat HDR Custom Firmware Custom Firmware for the Humax Foxsat HDR, including Web Interface, Channel Editor, Non-Freesat channels – add them to the EPG using the Channel Editor. |
| Humax UK Beta Portal The aim of this area is to provide a single source for the latest software for consumers of our products and as such the software may not yet be fit for long-term use. |
| Humax Foxsat HDR Upgrade Problems The Humax Foxsat HDR is a popular Freesat HD recorder which (like most set-top boxes) has some annoying software bugs, due to the company’s ongoing lack of Quality Assurance. Unfortunately, the Foxsat also has a poor manual software update process which often fails. Problems seem to arise when the Foxsat can’t recognise the Memory Stick, due to formatting issues or when the box doesn’t find the firmware update (.hdf file), due to it being in the wrong place on the drive or having the wrong file naming convention. |
| hummy.tv Humax Forum. |
| Invacom LNB manufacturer. |
| My Humax Forum A community supporting Humax PVR and STB owners. |
| MTI LNB manufacturer based in Taiwan. |
| Smart Titanium German LNB manufacturer. |
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| Platforms |
| Freesat Freesat is a Public Service digital satellite platform, from the BBC and ITV. |
| Freeview Free-To-Air digital terrestrial platform in the UK. |
| Radioplayer Radioplayer, the online platform bringing together all of the BBC and commercial radio stations in the UK. |
| Sky Broadcaster and platform operator. |
| Virgin Media Largest cable operator in the UK. |
| YouView YouView brings you all the plug-in-and-watch simplicity of Freeview, plus the UK’s leading Internet catch-up and video-on-demand services. |
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| Publications & TV Listings |
| Radio Times British TV and radio listings. |
| TV Guide TV listings. |
| What’s on TV TV listings and gossip. |
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| Satellites, Frequencies & Channels |
| Flysat Satellites, frequencies and channel listings. |
| KingOfSat Satellites, frequencies and channel listings. |
| Lyngsat Satellites, frequencies and channel listings. |
| List of channels on Sky This list details the current channels available on Sky in the United Kingdom (UK) and Republic of Ireland (TV Channel Lists). |
| WILDSAT Wild Pete’s Sky Channel Guide. |
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| Software |
| DSP-worx This site is about creating and working with digital audio effects in Borland Delphi and its inline Assembler (BASM) with optimizations for current CPU extensions like SSE and 3DNow as well as digital signal processing under the Java platform. |
| EPG Collector EPG Collector is a Windows package for collecting the EPG data from DVB or ATSC streams in EIT, MHEG5, OpenTV, MediaHighway, FreeSat and PSIP formats and creating an XMLTV file. It can also import the data to 7MC or DVBViewer. |
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| Media Information |
| All About Digital TV News & Information on Digital TV Broadcasts |
| BBC iPlayer Radio BBC iPlayer Radio – listen to live BBC Radio or catch up on the last 7 days of BBC programmes from across the UK and World Service. |
| BFI Screen Online The definitive guide to British film and TV history, with analysis, information and multimedia. |
| Brand Republic Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR site. |
| Broadband TV News Broadband TV News covers The Business of Multiscreen Television bringing news, analysis and comment on the delivery of digital television, around Europe and the World. |
| Broadcast Now TV and Radio website. |
| Digital Spy For the latest news and gossip from the world of entertainment and television and radio. |
| Digital Television Group The Digital TV Group (DTG) is the industry association for Digital Television in the UK: an independent body facilitating the rapid rollout of digital television and convergence across the communications industry. |
| Digital UK Digital UK is the independent, not-for-profit organisation, supporting Freeview and Freesat viewers and channel providers. |
| DTV Kit DTVKit’s philosophy is to shape the future of the Digital TV industry, by enabling the joint development of a shared pool of software components. It operates a collaborative royalty-free business model and is supported by membership subscriptions. |
| EPG Collector Forum Information and discussions about EPG Collector. |
| Freedom House Freedom House supports frontline activists in their efforts to defend fundamental rights, including to document abuses, advocate for justice, end impunity, and fortify the self-protection of human rights defenders. |
| mb21 Site by Mike Brown, Teletext then & now, UK transmitters information and gallery, Technostalgia and much more. |
| MEDIA BOY BLOG The only blog for all things Virgin Media UK. Now with MPEG4, TiVo and V6 news. |
| Media Mole UK entertainment and broadcasting news. |
| On Astra Information and advice about all things Astra. |
| Plusworld – Sky+ Information about Sky+. |
| Radio & Television Investigation Service The Radio and Television Investigation Service has been set up to help viewers and listeners investigate whether problems with receiving domestic radio and television services are due to interference from an external source, poor reception or problems with their receiving equipment. |
| Radio and Telly UK The Radio and Telly team has been providing information and advice since 2002. |
| RedButton MHEG Engine RedButton MHEG EngineRedButton allows you to use the interactive MHEG applications broadcast with DVB digital TV services. |
| RX:TV RX:TV offer viewers and installers of television services a feed of the latest information surrounding the reception and distribution of TV and associated services across the UK’s main digital platforms and beyond. |
| Satellites.co.uk British satellite Forum. |
| SatExpat Listings for channels available for expats from all over the world including the UK, the site is also available in French and German. |
| SES Official SES site. |
| TV Forum A UK based active website discussing television presentation and related topics. This site has no connection with and is not endorsed by any broadcaster. |
| UK Free TV Information on the reception of free television services on satellite and terrestrial, including channel lineup and FAQ. |
| Watch Online TV – Which? Learn how services such as BBC iPlayer and ITV Player allow you to catch up on your favourite shows, or stream live channels, over the internet. |
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| Radio |
| About BBC Radio Each week, nearly 35 million people listen to BBC Radio. The BBC offers a portfolio of services aimed at offering listeners the highest quality programmes, whatever their interest or mood. |
| BBC iPlayer Radio Listen to live BBC Radio or catch up on the last 7 days of BBC programmes from across the UK and World Service. |
| British DX Club Welcome to the British DX Club (BDXC-UK) Web site. This page contains information about the club and its services. |
| Community Radio Toolkit The Community Radio Toolkit is an attempt to make life easier for people setting up and running community radio stations by publishing and discussing the things that we have in common – making life easier to allow you to spend more time on the things that make you unique. |
| DAB Ensembles Worldwide Information about DAB transmissions around the world. |
| DAB Digital Radio A consumer website on national and local DAB digital radio services and digital radios. |
| DX Radio DX Radio is the hobby of listening to distant radio stations, typically from locations well outside their intended coverage area. Sometimes the weakness of the signal is the challenge, sometimes the amount of interference, and other times the infrequent or irregular schedule of the station. Typically most dx-ing is achieved on the Mediumwave Band (AM band) and the shortwave Tropical Bands between 2 and 6 MHz. The higher shortwave bands 6 to 30 MHz are generally used for true international broadcasting. |
| Interval Signals Online Interval Signals Online is a collection of audio clips of radio stations throughout the world, featuring airchecks, identification announcements, jingles, signature tunes and of course interval signals. The site is a strictly non-commercial research project aimed at press and broadcast editors, media researchers, educational institutions and devoted radio listeners, to facilitate the identification of radio stations. |
| London Radio Stations This site is a guide to stations in frequency order (within each waveband), so you can tune along the dial and instantly decode what you’re listening to. It’s in an easy-to-print format. There is a short review of most stations along with details such as address and phone numbers and links to station web sites, including live audio links where available. |
| National DAB (Arqiva) Information on the UK’s two national commercial DAB multiplexes, Digital One and Sound Digital. |
| North West Radio The North West Radio site is a guide to some of the radio stations you can receive in the area surrounding Manchester and North West England. The stations are listed in frequency order. Most of the stations can generally be heard with varying quality across the North West of England. |
| RadioCentre Shaping commercial radio’s future RadioCentre formed in July 2006 from the merger of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA). Its members consist of the overwhelming majority of UK Commercial Radio stations who fund the organisation. |
| RadioFeeds Listen live to UK and RoI radio from the internet’s most comprehensive and up-to-date directory of stations streaming on the web. |
| Radio Days There were three main BBC Radio stations broadcasting in Britain in the 1950s. The most widely listened-to service, the “Light Programme”, brought us popular music as well as mainstream light entertainment in the form of variety shows, comedy, and drama. The “Home Service”, whilst it also had its share of general entertainment programmes, was the main channel for news, features, and drama of a more demanding kind – and was the home too of regional programming. The “Third Programme” meanwhile was unashamedly highbrow in character: broadcasting in the evenings only, its output consisted of classical music concerts and recitals, talks on matters scientific, philosophical, and cultural, together with poetry readings and classic or experimental plays. |
| Radioplayer UK Radio in one place. Discover your perfect radio on your computer, mobile or tablet. Listen live or catch up with tens of thousands of programmes and podcasts. |
| Radio Rewind Unofficial History of BBC Radio 1. |
| RadioToday Industry News. |
| The Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to the development, promotion and recognition of excellence in UK radio and audio, we are a member organisation that operates under the direction of a board of Trustees. |
| This is ILR The unofficial Independent Local Radio Nostalgia site. |
| UK Digital Radio (Digital One) Digital One is a leader in DAB digital radio. It launched in November 1999 and has held the only digital radio licence for national commercial radio in the UK ever since. It broadcasts a broad range of content including traffic data services and some of the UK’s most profitable radio stations. |
| UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum. |
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| HDTV |
| HDTV UK News and information on HD. |
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| Television Nostalgia |
| 405 Alive An engaging rag-bag of old television facts and features, embracing technostalgia, technicalities, some classic programming, television-era culture, TV trivia, music, test cards, how to enjoy old television today, where to find further information and how to meet other crazy people. The emphasis is on British 405-line television but not to the exclusion of other countries’ television lore and additional interesting features. |
| Andrew Wiseman/625 Room Information on Idents, DOGs and other aspects of TV from the past. |
| Baird Television This site is about John Logie Baird (1888-1946), the Scotsman who was the first person in the world to demonstrate a working television system. |
| Blake’s 7 Online The home of Horizon, the Blake’s 7 Appreciation Society. |
| British Vintage Wireless Society The British Vintage Wireless Society (BVWS) is a society of approximately 1700 Worldwide members sharing a common interest in the preservation and communication of technical and historical data, and the preservation and restoration of Vintage radio and related equipment. |
| BSB, Squarials and all that! The life and times of BSB (British Satellite Broadcasting), the Squarial and DMAC. |
| MHP – Home of the Test Card Gallery Dedicated to television – particularly the bits before, in between and after the actual programmes. |
| Mikey’s old technology page On this site you will find pictures and information about some of the electronic, electrical and mechanical relics that the museum has accumulated over the years. Incorporating the South West England Vintage Television Museum. |
| Pember’s Ponderings British TV nostalgia, Teletext, transmitters, Testcards, the 405-Line Television System, and much more. The following pages were saved from oblivion when Alan Pemberton’s web site closed down. The content contained within these following pages are all his own work and have nothing to do with Radios-TV. Our only involvement is providing a place for them to be saved so others may continue to enjoy his work. The content of the pages are static and will not be updated. |
| Radios-TV Do you remember when a telly looked like a telly? When it was a piece of furniture that you lavished love on, even polished from time to time? If you’re over 40yrs old, you know exactly what I’m talking about. |
| Teletext Preservation Project With the great analogue switch off now complete, teletext (with a small t) as we know it, is all but extinct. The current generation of kids will grow up never knowing how creative you can be with low-resolution graphics in primary colours. |
| Television Heaven Information, reviews, histories and biographies on British and American TV. |
| Teletronic The history and development of British Television. |
| The Goodies Rule – OK! Fan site to help show the BBC and other UKTV networks, that fans and comedy lovers really want to watch The Goodies again on TV and DVD. |
| The Teletext Museum This site celebrates the development of a very British invention. Here you will find information about the development of teletext from its faltering beginnings to a system which has gained worldwide acceptance and which we now take for granted. Teletext was launched in the UK on 23 September 1974. |
| The Transdiffusion Archive Run on a not-for-profit basis and staffed entirely by volunteers, Transdiffusion is dedicated to using modern methods of communication to educate and inform on broadcasting history. They do this by making available Transdiffusion’s broadcasting archive for research and educational purposes. |
| The Valve Page Information on TV & radio from the past. |
| thisisfive.co.uk thisisfive has the largest collection of idents for the Channel 5 family of channels. |
| Transdiffusion Broadcasting System Transdiffusion Broadcasting System (TBS), a not-for-profit historical society dedicated to documenting and preserving broadcasting history. |
| Whirligig Everyone feels some nostalgia for the TV programmes that they watched when very young, so here we attempt to bring back to you some of the flavours of television in the Fifties. |
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| British Soaps |
| Coronation Street The official site featuring news, story updates, preview movies, quiz, activities and a message board. |
| Corrie.net The Coronation Street Fans website. |
| EastEnders The official site featuring news and story updates. |
| Emmerdale The official site featuring news, story updates, preview movies, quiz, activities and a message board. |
| Hollyoaks The official site at Channel Four. |
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